The Election Commission of India has came forward and flagged a fake WhatsApp message regarding the schedule for Lok Sabha Elections 2024. Taking it to its official account on social media platform X (formerly Twitter), the ECI shared information about the fake message and also clarified that no dates have been announced so far.
"A fake message is being shared on Whats app regarding schedule for #LokSabhaElections2024 #FactCheck: The message is #Fake. No dates have been announced so far by #ECI. Election Schedule is announced by the Commission through a press conference," said the ECI in its post on X.
In all likelihood, the Election Commission of India (ECI) is expected to announce the schedule for the upcoming parliamentary elections on March 13-14, IANS reported.
As such, the model code of conduct (MCC) will come into effect after the ECI makes the announcement. ECI teams have so far visited several states and held meetings with the Chief Electoral Officers (CEOs) to take stock of the poll preparedness there. The ECI officials are currently visiting Tamil Nadu, where they are taking a detailed view of the election related preparations by the state machinery.
ECI's Scheduled Visits
In the coming week, the ECI will visit Uttar Pradesh and Jammu and Kashmir. Reports stated that the full Commission would visit Jammu and Kashmir on March 11-12 to assess the poll preparedness and the security scenario there. J&K is last on ECI's schedule to visit different states for taking a first-hand view of the situation and issue necessary directions. It is thus believed that the Commission would announce the poll schedule soon after its return from J&K.
It may be recalled that the schedule for the seven-phase 2019 Lok Sabha elections was announced on March 10, while the dates for the nine-phase 2014 parliamentary polls had been announced on March 5. Nearly 97 crore Indians will be eligible to vote in this year's Lok Sabha elections.
The electoral rolls were published in all the states/UTs across the country in early February after the months-long intensive Special Summary Revision 2024. Several states such as Andhra Pradesh, Odisha, Sikkim and Arunachal Pradesh will hold simultaneous Lok Sabha and Assembly polls.
